Wednesday, February 3, 2010

A walk in the woods......

turned up a very lovely suprise... beautiful orange fungi
i wish i knew what kind it is, but i'm fungi challenged.. i've never really gotten into mushrooms, beyond buying them from the store, at one point many many years ago i did pick some shaggy manes and did a stirfry with them but that was it... i'm afraid i'm hesitant to go out in the woods and pick dinner... anyways if you scan the fungi, you will see 'someone else' is having some dinner!! Someone once said to me 'don't you get tired of viewing things through your lense... i don't.. and as you can see, this is why... when i looked at the fungi with a naked eye, i didn't see those wee critters, it was only when i uploaded the pictured did i SEE... if you click on the photo you will get to see a larger version... if anyone knows what kind of fungi and or insect i'd love to know!!!

another one
whatever they are, they turn into this gelanitious blob
as i mentioned in an earlier post, i've been going through old photos and on a buggy note here is a photo of a very large and exquisite wasp 'abode'... i'd had some foamies rolled up in the garage.. one was green and one was cream coloured... the wasps had utilized the foam to make their home...i wish that i'd gotten a better picture
this picture didn't do it justice.. nor does it show the size of the nest.... it was HUGE, this was only one portion of it.. originally i'd gone into the dark garage, spotted a blanket which i'd been looking for... went to grab it and realized that it was moving!!... it wasn't a blanket at all, it was wasps, thousands of them!!! anyways... sadly, i had to get someone in to 'remove' them ... did i feel bad? Yes... us gardeners KNOW that wasps are equally good, just don't get in their way!!!

8 comments:

Heiko said...

Well I'm not a mushroom expert, but I wouldn't eat those... Not only because of the wildlife on them. Mind you the amount of insects that get accidentally ingested in apples, cherries, blackberries et al, not to mention lettuces, the insects are probably more edible than this species fungus.

Ruth Trowbridge said...

I have this fungus too, I think it qualifies as "jelly" - (btw slime is also a fungi classification,lol). If it is orange jelly or dacrymycetacae and is found on coniferous logs it is supposed to be edible steamed. I would never eat it, would you? Peace

ps the wasps here were crazy overcrowded was it the same there?

Roasted Garlicious said...

nope, not gonna eat those Heiko!! and i wish i knew what the insects were.. i'm actually more interested in the insects than the fungi!!
thanks Ruralrose... i'm sure it's the same thing as what you've described... i'll pass on the steaming!! the wasps were plentiful this year too... made little nests all over...

Mr. H. said...

I have numerous mushroom books and after studying them all I came to the conclusion that there are only two mushrooms that I feel comfortable with and can easily identify...morels and shaggy manes. I will wait until I can walk and talk with an expert before trying any others. They really are beautiful though...all of them.

Roasted Garlicious said...

Mr.H i do know mushroom pickers, who can't wait for the chantrelles to come.. in Oregon, on the the coast are many mushroom pickers, in the fall buyers spring up everywhere and the pickers are out in mass... Yachats Oregon even has a mushroom festival which includes different mushroom dishes.. yum yum... i say leave it up to the experts!

It's me ...Mavis said...

Holy Crackers... that is a GIANT wasp nest... I think I would of kept it and tried to preserve it some how (is that even possible?) and put it on display... like on the coffee table or something. Nature rules!

Mrs. Mac said...

Wow to your fungi pics ... I once had a big blob of yellow slime appear in my garden ... it was fun to watch ... and the wasp nest ... that reminds me I'd better get rid of the one under my front porch before it re-awakens .. maybe hubby can do that. Your piggy profile is SO cute! .

Roasted Garlicious said...

It's me Mavis... i wish i had saved some of that nest, it was truly gorgeous, swirls of green and reds...
thanks Mrs. Mac.. the 'original' pig is Poomba, he no longer lives with us, he's got a new home with a friend.. and a new girlfriend :D .. life IS good... i do miss him a lot and wish he was here, but he's in a much better place, with all sorts of critters, his chickens, couple of goats, sheep etc... he was quite the character.. would come running up, squealing for dinner, snack, whatever he could get!!!